Why 'The Walking Dead' Finale Is Killing 'Fear The Walking Dead'

The Walking Dead universe, created by Robert Kirkman in his comic book series, offers plenty of material to work with and a humongous fan base to count on. Hence, the AMC picking up Fear the Walking Dead for season 2, despite the show not reaching its expected potential on the first.

via AMC

Well, I bet they didn't see this coming...

Fear The Walking Dead S 2 Premiere

Last Sunday saw the premiere of Fear's second season, following up The Walking Dead season 6 finale which, suffice to say, left fans quite displeased. The Walking Dead executive producer, Scott M. Gimple, has tried - and failed - to ease the fandom, explaining the whys and whatnots of the finale's plot and cliffhanger.

Scott M. Gimple on Talking Dead

Fans don't seem to be much inclined to accept Gimple's pledge to offer a mind-blowing season 7 premiere, or to give much credit to Fear The Walking Dead. Although this second season of Fear shows promise - and hopefully will be better than its first - fans simply aren't that invested.

Ratings have come out and, yes, Fear was the top Sunday show on cable television by a long margin. Though if you look at the numbers, they're not all that reassuring.

via tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com

The 3.1 rating of the season 2 premiere, was lower than the first season premiere - which was 4.9 - and even lower than the first season finale by 0.3. Just to get an idea of how not promising things currently are, the episode of Talking Dead which aired after The Walking Dead finale on April 3, topped this rating, reaching an expressive 3.9.

Not only are ratings low for Fear The Walking Dead, but if you follow the top Youtube channels that discuss The Walking Dead, you'll see that people don't engage with Fear material as much as it'd be expected for a second season. Views for any kind of Fear video are low, thumbs up are low and the comments...oh, well, let's just say people "just watch Fear to have something to do until The Walking Dead returns".

Maybe Gimple was expecting this kind of backlash from the fans after that obnoxious cliffhanger, or he simply doesn't give a damn about what happens to this companion series. Or maybe, just maybe, the showrunners weren't prepared for how the most avid fans would respond to being tricked and used. In other words, that finale didn't just backfire; it exploded.

On that Monday after the finale, when the internet came out and said they'd boycott the show, Gimple and Co. downplayed it, doubting the fans wouldn't come back for more in October.

If Fear's ratings are any indication, I'd say Mr. Gimple is in for a huge surprise.

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